Living well with chronic diseases
August 22, 2019
By: Jody Moss
Email: mossjm1@dshs.wa.gov
Do you have a chronic disease or two? You may actually have one and not know it – like asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, morbid obesity, arthritis, chronic pain, back pain, fibromyalgia, recurrent depression, migraines, addiction, cancer, ulcers.
That sounds really bad doesn’t it? Chronic diseases can be extremely disabling, or only a little bit of a problem. But for many of us a little bit of a problem today can grow to a big problem tomorrow.
Frankly – I am overweight, have a history of high blood pressure under good control with medication, and am at risk for diabetes. So as good as I usually feel – I qualify as a person with chronic diseases.
Let’s face it, not one of us wants to think of ourselves as “having a chronic disease.” Some of you won’t even want to read this article, just because who wants to think about either of those words, chronic or disease. It just all sounds so old, and decrepit, and yes, I am pulling out all the ageist language I can here.
But if you could get some of your mobility back, or cope better with pain, or stop feeling tired all the time, or cut down your down time, would you do it?
Well we have an app for that…okay not an app, more like a workshop. And this workshop can head you in the right direction if you have a ChD (my own acronym so I don’t have to use those words again – short and sweet for chronic disease).
Okay, back to the workshop – it is 6 sessions, free to those who are 60 or greater, and because of a grant, also free to those who have Medicaid or Apple Health for their health insurance. If you fall into another category, this doesn’t exclude you, but you may be asked to help support the program or pay a participation fee.
The course is called Living Well with Chronic Diseases, and there are two organizations offering this program periodically. One is Olympic Community Action Programs and the other is Jefferson Health Care. This is what we call an Evidence Based program which means, that if reproduced close enough to the researched manner, it should generally produce positive outcomes.
Here is what I know about it. It changes lives. It stops people from thinking about suicide as a solution. It lifts you up and gives you a community that supports you in a path toward health. It allows you to gain control over your life again, possibly to be able to work again, enjoy your life again. But I haven’t taken this course yet so let me share some videos from real people.
Here is a TED Talk about self-management programs and 3 testimonial video links from actual participants:
- Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEjYBXp4tA
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8We9dHzuS_Y
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBqotQDTgBU
- https://greatatanyagemi.com/diabetes-path
In the first video with Dr. Aaron Leppin talking about his own experiences is particularly telling. Too often we go to the doctor and expect them to heal us, give us a pill, take the pain away, and do so immediately. Our system of health care set this up, where the doctor had all the information and was in control of your entire health experience. But today we know that patients play the most significant role in their own health. How we eat, sleep, exercise, how we follow the recommendations from our physical therapist, our medical provider.
And there are these other items called the Social Determinants of Health. Social determinants of health refer to a specific group of social and economic factors within the broader determinants of health. These relate to an individual’s place in society, such as income, education or employment. Experiences of discrimination, racism and historical trauma are important social determinants of health for certain groups such as Native Americans, African Americans, LGBTQ and Hispanic community members. These are things we are often born into ad have little control over. And the bad news is that too many of these negatives, increases your chance of having a life-long condition.
But we are not doomed to suffer from our own history. We can make changes and join in with others in these workshops. People in the workshops talk about their own experiences but also they talk about how powerful it is to be lifting one another up in these course.
If you are interested in a workshop, contact the Jefferson Health Care Wellness Center and ask about future programs (none are currently scheduled at this time but they are offered periodically. 360.385.2200 ext. 1200.
In Clallam County, contact Olympic Community Action Programs at 360-452-4726.
It really could change your life.
Jody Moss is the Director of Contracts Management & Planning for the Olympic Area Agency on Aging and can be reached at 360-379-5064. For help with senior or adults with disability issues call Information and Assistance at 360-452-3221 in Clallam and 360-385-2552 in Jefferson.